How To Buy Land

In this article, I am going to be discussing how to buy land. Buying a plot of land isn’t really all that difficult. However, buying a great piece of land that has the potential for significant apprecation in the near future? Now that’s a different story. In order to find such a property, you’re giong to need to do some searching. And lots of it. If you want to get the very best deals, you will need to really look far and wide, and scour your market or the area in which you intend to purchase the land. Great deals aren’t going to just fall into your lap. Keep reading and I will tell you more about how to go about finding a great piece of land.

But first of all, what is raw or vacant Land?

People are often too easily confused about what vacant land really is. Vacant land is not raw land. Raw land is land that has basically never been touched. This type of land will have absolutely no improvements on it anywhere. Many times, surveyors must come to assess if utilities and sewer will be able to reach your raw land.

Vacant land, on the other hand, is not necessarily raw. It may have already been developed but is currently not being occupied by anyone. However, the term vacant land usually refers to land that is not overly improved. There may be a few improvements and there may have previously been access to utilities. If you want to buy vacant land, access to utilities is a major factor in price.

If the land already has a house built upon it, it is not really considered vacant land. Some good examples of what is considered vacant land would be farm land with a barn, or a ranch with some stables.

“Now can you please tell me how to buy land?”

1 – Hire an agent. Your best bet is to go through an agent. An agent will be able to show you great listings of vacant land that is currently for sale. Agents are especially good at matching you up with vacant land that you will like. This is because an agent really only makes money if they find you land that you would like to purchase.

2 – Newspapers. Another great way to buy vacant land is by searching through local advertisements. I know it may seem a little outdated, but searching through the classified section of the local newspapers is still one of the best ways to find land for sale. Some cities may actually have a newspaper with a section devoted solely to real estate.

3 – The internet. You can also find many sites on the internet that advertise land for sale. Buying and selling land via online auctions is also very popular these days and you can frequently get great deals by buying in this way. There are many government agencies who like to auction off repossessed homes, land and other foreclosed properties via these online auction venues, allowing savvy real estate investors and bargain hunters to pick up some quality land at steep discounts. Bid4Assets.com is one of my favorite such sites.

4 – Your own neighborhood. And finally, you can always just take some time to look around yourself. This is probably the method that most people looking to buy vacant land started with. You can just jump into your car and take off. Drive around the areas that are of interest to you and look for a ‘For Sale’ sign – and don’t be afraid to talk to the owner.

What else do I need to know to buy land?

Most investments in land will require a significant amount of money. Since most people don’t have the funds simply laying around, you may need to get a loan to buy land. Securing a loan for raw or vacant land is sometimes more difficult than securing a loan for developed land.

This is because the collateral for your loan will be the land itself. Since no one will be living on this land, it is particularly easy for you, as the owner, to simply walk away from the investment and never pay the loan back. So, banks need to make sure that you are a trustworthy person before they will make a loan to you, especially for vacant land. Before you attempt to get a loan for vacant land you need to make sure that you have established sufficient credit. If a loan for vacant land is the first loan that you have ever attempted to get, you may find that you will have some trouble.

I’ve laid out some very important information that you need to keep in mind before plunking down your hard earned cash to buy a piece of land. If you are a first timer, your best bet may be to hire an agent. They will guide you through the whole process step-by-step.

To learn more about how to buy land or to get more information about land investing in general, please be sure to check out my other articles on this site.